


We can be heroes

by LadyDrama10



Series: Byler Collection [2]
Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Angst and Tragedy, Character Death, Death, Heavy Angst, I Can't Believe I Wrote This, I Made Myself Cry, Last Memory Before Dying, M/M, One Shot, Sad Ending, Short One Shot, Will Byers Needs a Hug
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-23
Updated: 2019-08-23
Packaged: 2020-08-13 13:23:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 791
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20174980
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyDrama10/pseuds/LadyDrama10
Summary: Will's last thoughts before being attacked by the demogorgon.





	We can be heroes

**Author's Note:**

> I highly recommend listen to Heroes - Peter Gabriel (the version that appears in Stranger Things) while reading this angsty shit to feel the complete experience (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=35XptNZU2OA) Hope you guys will like it ;;

Will Byers was trapped, and his life hung on an edge. The almost untouchable land was his daily life, common and save, and the void was the demogorgon who would write the final point to his short story of just twelve pages.

But even if he desired with all his strenght to return to the ground he used to step every day, that was it: he was between a rock and a hard place, and when his eyes met the horrible creature that wanted to hunt him, he knew inside his heart that he was going to die there.

No matter how quick he tried to run away. That monster was going to catch him, and Will knew it.

He knew it. His life was about to end abruptally, and suddenly, a lot of things he considered trivial or shameful brighted up like light bulbs inside his mind.

A wave of regrets and a sequence of happy memories. A bittersweet flavour in his mouth and a nervous heartbeat on his chest. The image of a face, __his__ face... Always smiling at him, with that funny curly hair and a face re-covered by lots of freckles.

If he could, at least, really have powers like in Dungeons & Dragons...

If he could, at least... Say goodbye.

If he could... At least... Admit the truth...

“Will, what are you reading?”

The library. Will spent a lot of time there, along with Mike Wheeler, his childhood friend. Since they were little until now, they created a lot of memories in that tiny, humble and modest place, with their shoulders touching the shelves full of books and siting one in front of the other, reading under a comfortable silence and being embraced by an intimate atmosphere.

When they were alone, it was always like that.

“It’s a fantasy story.” replied Will as he looked at Mike’s eyes. “I want inspiration for my character.”

“For Will the Wise? Man, he is already awesome.”

“I want more spells.” he returned his gaze to the pages, but then looked again shyly at his friend’s face. “By the way, what are _you_ doing? You’re writing something?”

“It’s the next campaign.” he smiled. “We will play again this weekend, won’t we? I want this to be the most awesome we ever played!”

His smile was contagied to Will Byers, who blushed slightly as he laughed with a low voice.

“It would be great if we could do all the things of Dungeons & Dragons on the real life.” opined the cleric.

“Yeah, it would be! We could fight monsters.” claimed the paladin. “We could be heroes.”

He wrote something on the paper of his notebook, as if he wanted to remember something in specific.

“No.” said Mike then. “We_can_ be heroes.”

“Yeah.” Will smiled. “We can.”

Will Byers was trapped, with tears falling down from his cheeks and his heart about to explode of fear. He was scared. He was terrified. He didn’t want to die there. There was still one thing he had to do... Before leaving definitely the world that hated and loved him at the same time.

He wanted to create more memories along with the best friend he ever had. He wanted to be with Mike. He didn’t want to lose him. He didn’t want Mike to cry for him.

He didn’t want to left that wonderful life and leave behind his loved ones. His mom, his older brother, Dustin, Lucas... Mike.

_Mike. Again with him? Why he always thought about him whenever he had any problem??_

Why was he thinking about Mike Wheeler... When he was going to die?

His life hung on the edge, but his fingers couldn’t resist more. He fell onto an impregnable darkness without color, sound or smell, and he just closed his eyes, waiting for the end to come.

It seemed that, at the end, his inner fears were true... He liked Mike that way. That forbidden way that ripped his heart with cruelty for so many nights. The feelings that made his tears fall when he was just a teenager with a normal life.

Now he was dying, and for whathever reason, he regreted not saying to Mike the truth he held into his heart.

He cried... He was crying. But his screams never leaved his throat.

_“We can be the most bravest heroes in Hawkins!”_

_“Yeah! Now I know what title I can write for this campaign.”_

Will’s life traspassed the final line; and his crazy heart stopped throbbing as a last thought crossed his mind like a hopeless arrow.

The title for the next campaign...

'We can be heroes... Just for one day’.

He remembered it, even if he wasn't going to be able to play it nevermore.

**Author's Note:**

> Man, I literally cried while writing this. Will is my favourite character on the entire show and Byler my favourite pair, and just thinking about Will dying in the first episode of the story...
> 
> I based this one shot on a canon fact, which is that Will's last thought were about him and Mike sitted on the library and passing the time the two of them alone. That detail was revealed on the comics of Stranger Things and it makes me so emotional omg. It gave me inspiration to write this short angst one shot, so here it is, if I made you cry or question your whole existence after reading this then I'm proud and happy.


End file.
